Archive By Section - Letters

The structure of county government was on the Newton County Board of Commissioner's (BOC) agenda again at its Sept. 2, 2014 meeting. It was on the secret agenda of District Commissioner Levie Maddox, that is. As readers may recall, this has been a topic of discussion since February and the BOC has met with experts from both the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) and the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission several times. Representatives of both clearly have indicated that having both a full time commission chairman and a county manager should be changed to improve the efficiency and ...

There is an old adage that legislating in a nasty business, kind of like making sausage. Well I have made sausage before, and it was not nearly as nasty as the legislating I saw last night at the Newton County Board of Commissioners meeting.

There is an old adage that legislating in a nasty business, kind of like making sausage. Well I have made sausage before, and it was not nearly as nasty as the legislating I saw last night at the Newton County Board of Commissioners meeting.

The Center for Community Preservation and Planning, commonly referred to as the Center, is a non-governmental organization which came into being shortly after the turn of the century. It was originally funded by a local private non-profit foundation, which also owned a large tract of land in what is generally referred to as the Brick Store Community at Ga. 11 and Hwy. 278.

The political machine that controls Covington, Newton County and the remainder of small towns here has set in motion a plan to facilitate a virtual take over of property owners' rights. In the process, they have spent unbridled and without any sense of direction which would focus upon what the citizens' desire.

Members of my family have lived in Newton County since 1809. Early members were simply subsistence farmers; some were successful planters; some were Methodist ministers; architects; economists, etc. Some were considered wealthy, others financially challenged. But regardless of the times - various depressions, Civil War destruction and the real estate collapse of recent years, one member of the family has managed to survive without selling any of the land left by our forefathers. For eight generations we are proud of that accomplishment.

A performance bond is a surety bond issued by an insurance company or a bank to guarantee satisfactory completion of a project by a contractor or sub contractor. In this example, The Chamber and The Center have failed to 'perform' in a satisfactory manner and the County has recourse with or without the performance bond.

My wife and I moved to Covington in January of 1982 after an extensive search for a place to live and raise our family. I had taken a position working in downtown Atlanta and could have lived anywhere in the metro area. We chose Covington because of its small town atmosphere, the picturesque City Square, and its rural countryside. Like most citizens in Newton County, we had real concerns when the building boom hit in the 2000's and the county started experiencing massive, out of control growth. We saw the very characteristics of the county that brought us here ...

Basil Rigney was laid to rest today. He was truly a one-of-a-kind educator. In Mr. Rigney's band class, there was no coddling, and praise was given only if truly deserved. He had a keen sense of each band member's strengths and potential, and he was not one to give up easily!